EIT
At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we translate scientific discovery into real‑world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:
* Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
* Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
* Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Welcome to the Plant Biology Institute
The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. It aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.
Our research focuses on enhancing the ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production, speed‑up discovery and deployment in plants, and reducing reliance on inputs such as water, fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
* Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside
* Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.
* Novel decarbonised plant‑based production platforms for food and medicines
* Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants.
Your Role
We seek a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate in the Crop Transformation Pipeline team at our Plant Biology Institute. The Research Associate will support high‑throughput transformation execution, ensuring consistent delivery of edited or transgenic plants across target crops. Focus is on throughput, reproducibility, and industrial‑grade delivery of high‑quality transgenic and gene‑edited events.
Your Responsibilities
* Conduct transformation, tissue culture, regeneration, and plant recovery workflows
* Maintain culture health, media preparation, and sterile technique standards
* Track experiments using LIMS and digital systems
* Assist in optimisation trials and troubleshoot experiments
* Support scaling initiatives and throughput acceleration
* Maintain detailed lab documentation and inventory
* Train and mentor Technicians
* Standardise SOPs and ensure rigorous documentation following GLP & QMS
* Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to incorporate cutting‑edge applied technologies to develop commercial products
* Present scientific work at seminars within the team and at external meetings, contributing to laboratory‑wide discussions
* Assist in training and mentoring technicians in transformation and tissue culture skill sets
* Collaborate with experts across the EIT ecosystem on AI, automation, and generative biology
* Assist in translating scientific results into publications, commercial opportunities, and IP protection in line with EIT’s mission
Requirements
Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience
* Master’s or Bachelor’s degree with substantial hands‑on expertise in plant tissue culture and transformation
* Experience with structured experimental planning, tracking, monitoring and reporting
* Proven troubleshooting and optimisation skills in tissue culture
* Ability to build both internal and external relationships, working collaboratively beyond one discipline
* Clear and demonstrable problem‑solving, communication and collaboration skills
* Excellent written communication and report writing ability
Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience
* Experience in multiple crop transformation
* Experience with GLP & Quality management system
* Experience in DOE and statistical analysis
Benefits
Our Benefits
* Salary dependent on experience + travel allowance + bonus
* Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days
* Pension
* Life Assurance
* Income Protection
* Private Medical Insurance
* Hospital Cash Plan
* Therapy Services
* Perk Box
* Electric Car Scheme
* Childcare benefit
What we offer
* Newly constructed, state‑of‑the‑art laboratories and growth facilities
* A collaborative research environment with highly skilled team working at the cutting edge of plant science to create commercially sustainable solutions
* Opportunities for professional development including publication, conferences, spin‑out generation, and leadership development
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